I know you Texans worship at the altar of slow-smoked beef and folks from the Carolinas consider anything other than pork to be blasphemous. And then there are the heathens that parboil some ribs, toss them in the crock pot with liquid smoke, and call that BBQ.

I think we'll definitely get some very creative entries this month. I'm in!

This sounds good. I lived in the heart of NC (Pinehurst) for years so while I truly appreciate that style of BBQ, I have lived in Central Texas for the last 20 years. I live within an hour of, arguably, 5 of the top 10 BBQ joints in Texas if not the world:

However! Around here, any BBQ is probably going to include Fajitas. Real fajitas, i.e. skirt steak. No chicken, no pork, no 'espensive cuts of beef, just skirt steak, marinated long enough to make it tender. So I will combine Fajitas and enchilada sauce with a tortilla dough for my entry.

This pie is inspired by Chef Paul Prudhomme’s Barbecued Shrimp – a true Louisiana classic. The only thing BBQ about Barbequed Shrimp besides the name is the flavor as it never touches a grill or pit of any sort. The original recipe is one of my all-time favorites for entertaining and always a big hit with our guests – cooked right in front of them and served piping hot with loads of fresh baked French bread for mopping up the sauce which will absolutely make your tongue want to beat your brains out it is so good. Those friends who have also tried my pizza have long asked me to combine the two. This challenge inspired me to do just that, and I’m very pleased with the results.

The dough is my go-to 100% KABF, 61% water, 3% salt, 2% Ischia culture. Mixed as described in the VPN standard and fermented in bulk for ~24 hours and risen another 5 or so in balls.

Next, peel the shrimp (I used Texas gulf pink shrimp I bought right at the docks – one of the upsides of putting up with heat here in Houston). Get head on if you can – there is so much flavor in the heads. Make a stock with just the heads and shells. After 45 min or so simmering, strain it and cook it down to 1/4 its original volume or thereabouts. You want a very rich shrimp flavor for this. You need about 1/4 cup.

Melt 3/4 stick of butter in a cast iron skillet and add a large clove of garlic ground to a pulp with a little kosher salt and the side of a knife. After the garlic has sautéed to a golden brown, add the shrimp and sauté until about half cooked and remove them and set aside. To the garlic butter, add the seasoning mix, the shrimp stock (about 1/4 cup), 1/4 cup medium-dark beer (I use Shiner Bock), and a good long dash (~ 3/4 tsp) of Worcestershire sauce (Lea and Perrins only please). Stir by shaking the pan back and forth until it reaches syrupy consistency and pour into a measuring cup and set aside. Use a spatula – get it all. Even if you don’t use it all on the pie, you won’t want to waste it. Dip the ends of your crust in it.

Slice the shrimp in half down the middle of the back and set aside.

I generally make my dough balls 250g and make an 11” or so pie. For this, I wanted more bread to soak up the sauce, so I upped the weight to 350g and kept the diameter about the same.

I topped the dough with some grated Raclette (not too much - it’s not about the cheese - this is to hold the shrimp in place and add a little depth of flavor) and the shrimp halves and baked (~2:15 at 750F on the stone). After baking, stir your sauce and drizzle it generously over the pie and then top with the diced tender part of a green onion.

If you need to do a longer bake, I would not pre-cook the shrimp at all and probably not cut them in half either. You don’t want to overcook them.

This morning I slow-smoked some big, beefy ribs in an offset smoker using oak and pecan logs. I'll strip off and shed the meat, toss lightly with a little Tennessee red sauce. If all goes according to plan, one of the pizzas I'll make tomorrow will be topped with some of this meat and maybe some provolone. Stay turned.

Everyone, I just purchased a new portable gas grill that carries like a suitcase. Today I tried grilling pizza using the method where you par bake the dough on one side directly on the grill. Add the toppings to the browned side and bake again directly on the grill. I'm happy to report some great results. I also grilled a slab of London Broil which also came out great. Check it out!

1.) Wash tomatoes. You will need 1 pound of tomatoes for each cup of liquid tomatoes that the recipe calls for.

2.) Cut up the tomatoes into about 1 inch by 1 inch pieces and add to blenderto make the blender about half full. Pulse in 1 second intervals to grind upand liquefy the tomatoes. Do not allow blender to run for more than one secondat a time because it will create a pink liquid by introducing too much air intothe mix.

3.) Place a wire screen type strainer over a large bowl and put in the groundtomatoes. Then use a rubber spatula to stir and compress the ground tomatoesinto the screen to create the liquid tomato. Discard any leftover seeds, skins,and pulp.

Note: You can alternatively use a food mill for this step above.

Cook the Sauce

1.) Combine the liquid tomato and tomato paste in the pot and cook over med-low heat for about 15 to 30 minutes to reduce it to a pizza sauce consistency.

For kicks and grins, I made a couple pies by throwing the dough straight onto the hot grill (I'm guessing 600-650F? I didn't check), flipping it over, topping the side I just cooked, and when the other side looked done, I put it in a hot oven for a minute or two to finish it off.

65% hydration3% yeast2% Ischia culture

Dough had about 24 hours total rise.

First pie is pepperoni, second is red onions roasted with a little homemade smoked kosher salt and bacon.